Real Madrid are set to play the remainder of the 2019/20 season at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano as they try to win their 34th league title.
Some of the players in the current squad have never played an official game at Valdebebas, while there are others who have stepped on its pitch and even celebrated a goal of their own.
Eight have played official matches
Up to eight players of the first-team squad have featured in at least one game at the Alfredo Di Stefano.
Nacho Fernandez, Dani Carvajal, Casemiro, Lucas Vazquez, Fede Valverde, Mariano Diaz, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes have all played there, with Nacho being the player with the most appearances there with 26.
Meanwhile, Rodrygo has disputed three games there this season and has scored in the last two: against Rayo Majadahonda and San Sebastian de los Reyes.
Ramos scored the first
Sergio Ramos became the first player to ever score at the Alfredo Di Stefano in the stadium’s inauguration game, which ended in 6-1 win over Stade de Reims on May 9, 2006.
Los Blancos starting line-up in that game was as follows: Iker Casillas; Michel Salgado, Sergio Ramos, Alvaro Mejia, Roberto Carlos; David Beckham, Guti, Zinedine Zidane, Robinho; Antonio Cassano and Raul Gonzalez.
Mariano the top scorer
None of the aforementioned players have scored more times than Mariano, who netted 22 goals as a Real Madrid Castilla player at the Alfredo Di Stefano.
The top scorer in stadium’s history is Atletico Madrid striker Alvaro Morata, who has bagged 27 goals, followed by Joselu Mato (24), Mariano (22), Jese Rodriguez (21) and Cristo Gonzalez (19).
Zidane played and debuted there as coach of both Castilla and Real Madrid
Zidane was part of the team who defeated Stade de Reims in the ground’s opening game, while he also debuted there as Real Madrid Castilla coach on August 30, 2014, with a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Getafe.
In his first season he mustered 11 wins, four defeats and four draws, while in the following campaign he registered six victories and three draws before being promoted to the first team.
His first training session with Los Blancos took place at the Alfredo Di Stefano on January 5, 2016, and it was open to the general public.
When Brahim visited as an opponent
Brahim Diaz has also stepped on the Alfredo Di Stefano pitch for the UEFA Youth League game between Real Madrid and Manchester City.
However, the current Los Blancos forward was in the Sky Blues’ colours in a game where the home side won 3-1, thanks to a Borja Mayoral brace and a goal from Achraf Hakimi.
Brahim came on after the break with the score at 2-0 to Real Madrid.
Getting ready for next month
Real Madrid players are already aware that they will play the remainder of the season at the Alfredo Di Stefano and throughout this month they will train several times at their new home, which has identical pitch dimensions to the Bernabeu.
The club’s groundsman, Paul Burgess, has been preparing the pitch to leave the grass in perfect condition for the return to action.
Although the differences in the state of the pitch may be noticeable, the club have guaranteed that its condition will be optimised soon.
Advertising billboards and TV broadcasting areas will be modified to be ready on time for when LaLiga decide to get the league back underway.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has stressed that the players are motivated to lift the domestic trophy at their new ground.
“We like to play at the Bernabeu, of course, but playing games in a stadium that has the name of a club legend is also cool and I think it can be nice to play there,” he declared.
“Our goal is to win LaLiga and I think we can do it.”
SOURCE:- allfootballapp
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